The Blood
by Myan Mirage
Summary: Kushina Uzumaki, not Naruto's mother. Minato Namikaze, not human. An older sister? Naruto's story starts the day he was born, the day the lies first started. Who is his mother? Where is his father? Who is the boy who is just like him?
1. Chapter 1

Kushina Uzumaki paced back and forth within the Hokage's office of the Hokage Tower. In the same building but many rooms away was her husband, Minato Namikaze, who was holding a meeting to discuss what to do about the monstrous nine-tailed fox that was nearing the city. He was completely unaware of the turmoil his wife was having.

Kushina paused and looked down tearfully at the sleeping baby boy in her arms. Just moments before, Danzo had walked into the room expecting her husband. Instead, he found her and her daughter Mikoto. Seemingly relieved at their sight, he'd thrust the baby boy into her arms, explaining that he was the one who would be the future container to the Kyuubi if there were no other choice. She'd been wise enough to question as to where the baby boy had come from, but all Danzo told her before leaving the room was that his parents didn't want him, and that they didn't care what the shinobi did with him.

Now, Kushina stood holding a baby boy as her daughter sat staring out of the window. Tears were streaming down the woman's face as she gazed into the sleeping face of the boy in her arm. He was so angelic, so perfect. His dark skin contrasted with his spiky blond hair. _He looks just like his father,_ Kushina thought wryly. _He looks nothing like Kiki._

Kushina softly pressed her lips to the baby boy's head. When she pulled away, she found startling blue eyes gazing back at her. The baby gazed at her curiously before breaking into a wide smile and giggling sweetly, holding his hands out for something to grab on. His hands met her hair. Kushina, remembering the tugging that came along with Mikoto, prepared herself for pain, which never came. To her surprise, the baby boy ran his fingers through hair, analyzing the texture and feel of it. Kushina couldn't help but be amazed by the child.

The moment came to an abrupt end when Minato burst into the room, followed closely by Jiraiya and Hiruzen Sarutobi. Kushina hugged the child tighter to her, almost afraid that he would take the baby boy away from her before she remembered that the baby boy was his.

"Kushina, has anyone willingly come forth to give their child the save the village?" Jiraiya questioned before noticing the bundle in her hand. "I guess that's a yes." He seemed rather depressed by the thought, almost as if he were hoping that no one would. Hiruzen sighed, puffing out a cloud a smoke as he smoked from his pipe. He was depressed as well. This was not a great time in Konohagakure history. Minato was the only one who was curious about the child.

"Who brought the baby in?" he questioned as he stepped closer. Kushina bit her lip and turned away. This was going to be so hard.

"Minato…" she paused, taking a step back as he came closer. Minato was obviously surprised and confused by the action.

"Kushina, what's wrong?" he questioned, stepping a step forward, only for her to take another back. Kushina looked away from him and closed her eyes.

"Minato, this is your son," she said slowly. She looked up at him, her eyes blazing. "Minato, this is Naruto!" She thrust the baby into his arms, and Minato got a good look at the child. His skin pale and his eyes widened. His heart nearly stopped. The baby looked far too much like him to not be his.

"Naruto?" he whispered, holding the baby boy gently in his arms. Naruto looked up at him and smiled, waving. Minato turned to Kushina. "How is this possible?" She shook her head. He whirled around to look at his predecessors. "How did this happen? Izaki wasn't due for another week or so!"

"Minato, children rarely are born when planned," Hiruzen replied. This didn't calm the blond.

"I don't care about that!" he snapped, surprising the child, who didn't cry at all. "How did he get here?" Silence filled the room. No one could answer that question. Minato looked down at his baby boy in his arms. "How did you get here, Naruto? What happened to your mother?" His thoughts immediately flew from his son to his wife, his _other _wife, the one the public knew nothing about. He didn't want them to know. How would they take him marrying a youkai princess from another realm? Not very well.

"Who brought him here, Kushina?" Minato said, his voice suddenly cold. Kushina bit her lip. She knew that tone.

"Danzo," she responded. "He told me that his parents didn't want him anymore, that they didn't care what Konoha did with him." Minato's blood ran cold.

"No!" he growled, startling the baby whom he clutched to his chest as tears slipped from his eyes. Naruto still didn't cry. He watched as the man who held him began to cry. "No! Izaki! She was here! What was she doing her? Why would she come to this biased, corrupted place? Why would she come as heavily pregnant as she was?" He covered his face with his hand, balancing Naruto in his other. "Why, Kiki? What would possess you to come to this stupid, close-minded realm?"

Kushina bowed her head, her own sorrow filling her as she thought about her friend lying somewhere helpless, bleeding. She was surprised and ashamed by the part of her that was happy by the thought, jealousy fueling the other emotion. She would always envy Izaki. She was Minato's soul-mate, the one he fell in love with first, his favorite wife. She was just the woman he married as a way to calm the council. Kushina shook her head. She was stupid to think that. Minato loved her and their daughter, though she was certain that she was correct on the first thought. Izaki would always have Minato's heart.

"She's not dead," a soft, angelic voice said from the corner. All four adults looked up and turned to the small child seated in the corner on the floor staring out the window. Five year old Mikoto Namikaze had her watery blue eyes trained outside of the window, just staring in boredom. Her long vibrant red hair was tied back into ponytail, leaving two thick locks of hair running down to her chest. She turned her gaze to the adults in the room, her watery eyes now icy.

"What are you talking about, Mikoto?" Kushina questioned, wiping her eyes. She hated allowing her daughter to see her cry. Mikoto trained her eyes gaze on her mother, who flinched at the unnaturally colored eyes and looked away. Jiraiya and Hiruzen did the same. Only Minato, whose own mother had had the same eyes, dared to keep her gaze.

"She's not dead," Mikoto repeated, her angelic voice tinged with annoyance. "She's not here anymore, but she's not dead, either." Minato stared at his daughter before releasing a breath of air.

"Thank goodness," he whispered before looking down at his son. "Thank you, Mikoto." The girl nodded and returned to staring out of the window.

"Minato, you know what you will have to do if we can't stop the beast, right?" Hiruzen questioned. Minato shook his head, but he knew what he had to do.

"Izaki would kill me if I weren't going to already be dead," he whispered. "I can only hope that that woman doesn't have connections with someone from the other side. She seems to know everyone and everything."

"Being a one thousand year old kitsune can do that," Jiraiya stated. "Especially a kitsune princess. How did you manage to not only fall in love with her but also save yourself from dying in the process?" Minato chuckled as he reminisced, kissing his son's forehead.

"I stumbled through a dimensional wormhole when I was eight and was nearly killed by a centipede youkai," he recalled. "I was in her territory, so she saved me. Reluctantly, but she saved me otherwise. She took my breath away."

"Are you sure it wasn't just the fact that you had almost died that took your breath away?" Jiraiya joked.

"You were eight?" Hiruzen questioned. "You've known her a long time, then." Minato shook his head.

"A long time to me. Only a few seconds to Izaki. I'm almost thirty, which is old to me. She's a millennium, and is just coming of age! Amazing, isn't it?" He snuggled his face into his baby boy's stomach. "Your mommy must miss you, Naruto. If only she could be here with me."

Minato sighed and handed Naruto to Kushina. "Kushina, if and when I die, please take care of Naruto for me." Kushina bit her lip and nodded, tears filling her eyes.

"I would do anything for you and Izaki, Minato," Kushina said. "Be careful, though. You're making me a widow far too young." Minato nodded and gazed down at his newborn son.

"I love you, Naruto, and I'm sorry for what I'm going to put you through," he whispered to him. Naruto gazed up at him and smiled, tugging on his blond hair. Minato winced, but couldn't help to smile.

"Minato, I think that beast has arrived," Jiraiya said solemnly as he turned to the windows. All of the adults turned to stare at that form of the demon fox that stood miles away from the village. Minato turned to Kushina.

"Take care of him until I need him," he told her seriously. Kushina nodded. All three men rushed out of the room leaving Kushina holding Naruto, and Mikoto sitting in the window.

Several hours later found the Kyuubi enraged and attacking the village with the ferocity that only a demon of its caliber could sum up. Half of the village was destroyed, burning in the background. Lying forgotten on the battlefield were the bodies of the brave men and women who had been courageous enough to risk their lives to save their village and their people. Blood saturated the ground and the air. Minato stood atop Gamabunta's head, gazing at the beast before him. The scent of blood sent his own blood into a frenzy underneath his skin. His throat burst into flames, and Minato had to hold back a coughing fit.

Minato swallowed hard, holding baby Naruto tightly to his chest. The young man couldn't believe what he was about to do. If he lived through this, his wife, his true wife, was going to kill him. Hell, he'd kill himself if he wasn't already going to be dead. He was using their son as the container of a beast just to protect a village that would turn their backs on him later in life. She certainly would kill him. Minato bit his lip and looked down at the baby boy in his arms. He whispered a soft apology before returning his gaze to the Kyuubi.

Blue eyes stared into vicious red eyes. The fox bijuu was wildly thrashing around, trying to free itself from the grips of the huge toad. Minato bit his lip in reluctance before performing the signs to start the sealing. The Kyuubi stopped struggling when it felt a huge amount of chakra explode behind it. The large beast turned its head to look into the cold, dead eyes of Shinigami himself. The Death god smiled coldly at the beast.

"It is finally your day of reckoning," the god grumbled to the beast before it removed its soul from its body and implanted it into Naruto's. Minato quickly drew on the seal, implanting a little of his own chakra into it. He gasped as Shinigami pierced his body to take his soul. He was surprised, however, when the death god grimaced and pulled back. "What a disgusting soul! A vampire's soul is worthless in hell!" he roared, surprising Minato. Relief flowed over him. He might just be able to raise his son after all. His hopes were dashed when he noticed the Shinigami smirking. "I'll just have to take your energy as compensation then." Minato gasped as almost every bit of his chakra was drained from his body as well as his vampiric energy. The last thing he heard was the cruel laughter of the death god before his entire world went black.

To everyone who was watching, the world turned white, and with a flash, the Kyuubi and the Yondaime were gone. Gamabunta, his connection with Minato now lost, puffed of existence, leaving Naruto to fall several stories back to earth. A red streak snatching him out of the air and landed in the middle of a large group of dead shinobi. Kushina looked down at the crying baby, tears running down her face. Hiruzen Sarutobi made his way towards Kushina as she clutched the baby to her chest.

"What should we do now, Kushina? Will you take care of the child?" Hiruzen questioned. Kushina nodded, hugging the crying baby to her chest as she rocked him to sleep.

"He and Mikoto are all I have left now," she whispered. "I'll take care of them both."

"Word is going to get out that Naruto contains the Kyuubi. That's an inevitability."

"I'll protect him with my life. He'll stay with Mikoto and I on the Uzumaki estates." Hiruzen nodded.

"I'll try to protect him as much as I can."

"I will, too," Jiraiya said somberly as he appeared near the two of them. "It's time to return now. There is a lot of rebuilding to be done and our reinstated Hokage needs to make his speech." Hiruzen nodded.

"I shall be there shortly," he stated. He turned to Kushina. "Go home. Get Naruto settled. Stay with your daughter. You're not the only one who has lost someone today." Kushina nodded, wiped away the tears, and disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

(Five Years Later)

Naruto sat at the window of his bedroom, staring out of it at the joyful festivities that were going on outside of estate. His mother, Kushina, had forbidden him from leaving the house on his birthday, especially after what had happened two years ago. He remembered clearly what had happened that day and never wanted to repeat it again, so he heeded her warnings.

Ten year old Mikoto glanced into Naruto's room as she passed. She noted the longing way he stared out of the window and wondered briefly if her younger brother had any friends to give him presents for his birthday. She quickly brushed that thought away. He was the village outcast. Most of the children she went to school with thought that everyone hated him simply because he was born the day hundreds died. He was the child who was given life by many deaths. His mere birth on that day was bad karma.

Mikoto could care less what they thought of him, just as long as it didn't have anything to do with him being a demon. She hated it when he was called that, no matter how true it was. Mikoto wasn't stupid. She knew very well who his real mother was. Mikako Mitsuro was a well known, amazingly beautiful, highly powerful taiyoukai from the Youkai Realm. Youkai roughly translated to demon, though the title was much broader than that. It still didn't help that his mother was a super powerful fox demon princess. If the villagers knew that, they would truly kill them. Hell, if they knew that his father, the great Minato Namikaze, was a vampire, they would be even more likely to kill him. Naruto's parentage was going to get him killed one day. Of course, being the half-breed daughter of a human and a vampire didn't help Mikoto much, either. She was treated as an outcast, too, though it was mostly because of her association with Naruto.

Mikoto continued past Naruto's room as she went to find her mother. She needed help with a ninjutsu her class was learning in school, and because of her massive chakra reserves, she was unable to perform it. Mikoto continued down the hall, oblivious to the eyes watching her from the window.

Naruto sighed, removing himself from the window, and lying on his bed. He curled up around his pillow, snuggling underneath the covers. He was exhausted from what he'd gone through today, though he was more lonely than tired. He wished that he had someone else to celebrate his birthday with, but he didn't have any friends, or rather, their parents wouldn't let their kids hang around with him.

Naruto rubbed his face against his pillow in an attempt to stop the tears from coming. He should have been happy. He had a mom and a sister. Why did he need friends? Naruto wiped away a stray tear that fell from his eye. Why did he need friends?

Naruto snuggled up around his pillow, trying to ignore the gnawing pain inside of him. Several questions popped into his head as he tried to fall asleep. Why didn't the adults like him? Why did everyone hate him? Why did they blame him for what happened on his birthday? Naruto sighed and began to think about what he'd gotten for his birthday. Iruka-sensei had taken him out to eat at Ichiraku's. Kakashi-san had given him a scroll on basic ninjutsu. Kurenai-san had given him a scroll on basic genjutsu. Gai-san had given him a scroll on basic taijutsu. Asuma-san had given him kunai and shuriken to practice with. Mikoto had gotten him a wooden sword to practice the basic kenjutsu forms with that his mother had given him. Sarutobi-jiji had given him a cake for his birthday. Naruto smiled to himself. All in all, his birthday had been a lot of fun. Why was he thinking of such sad thoughts anyway?

As Naruto fell asleep, on the opposite part of the estate, Kushina was having coffee with her friends. Kakashi poured himself another cup and sighed. "Today marks five years," he mumbled only to earn a smack on the head from his teacher's wife. Kushina glared at him.

"Shut up, Kakashi!" she snapped before looking down at her cup. She grimaced before dumping it into the trash can and replacing the coffee with sake. She sighed after downing the cup. "Only you can make a joyful day depressing."

"I was talking about Naruto," he replied. Kushina narrowed her eyes at him as she poured herself another cup. Kakashi shook his head, taking the bottle from her in order to spike his coffee. "I wonder what Izaki is doing at this moment. It has been five years. Wouldn't she have tried to find her son?"

"She's probably trying to find some way to get him back without starting a full out war," Kurenai replied as she drink from her cup. "She may have hated the people in Konoha, but she had too many friends here to want her people to destroy it."

"Maybe she's just unable to return," Asuma suggested. "She was always complaining about how difficult it was to create portals to different dimensions. Maybe she's unable to create one."

"Maybe," Kushina whispered before downing her cup. Kakashi frowned as he stared up at the moon through the skylight.

"I don't know," Kakashi whispered. "When she was pregnant with Naruto, she visited a lot more frequently. Before, she would only come to Konoha once a month or less. When she was carrying, she'd visit twice a week, stay for long periods of time, and return."

"From how you're saying, you make it sound like her visiting had something to do with Naruto," Kushina stated. She sighed, laying her head on her hand. "I wouldn't be surprised. Both Izaki and Minato were powerful. Izaki is the only daughter of two of the Demon Realms most powerful Youkai. Minato was the son of vampire lord in the Realm of Legends. Both were capable of performing great feats while in the womb. Izaki was constantly freezing her mother's drinks while Minato was always creating windstorms. I wouldn't be surprised if Naruto's special gift had something to do with portal creating."

"I've heard of people who have the ability to create portal whenever they please to wherever they want," Gai said, gazing up at the moon. "I've only heard of them through rumors, of course. Some people have said to have met people with such abilities and have witnessed them use them. Of course, if anyone existed with such a gift, I'm certain that everyone would be after them for that power."

"Of course," Kurenai said. "Creating portals goes against nature. Doing so takes a great amount of energy, which is why Izaki would only visit every blue moon or so. A person with that kind of power would be a great asset to anyone who finds them."

"They would be used as a weapon," Kushina responded coldly. "If what we think is true, and Naruto is one of these portal creators, then we keep this to ourselves." The room lapsed into silence as everyone agreed.

Kakashi turned his gaze from the moon and glanced out of the window next to him. He could have sworn he'd just seen something in the trees surrounding the house. Narrowing his eyes, Kakashi stood up. Everyone looked at him in wonder. "Something bad is about to happen," he whispered as his gut clenched in foreboding. Immediately after he said this, there was an explosion on the opposite side of the house, and all of the shinobi were up. The only thing could think about was who the target was: Naruto.

* * *

Naruto lay cuddled around his pillow, sleeping peacefully. He was blissfully unaware of the pair of eyes glaring at him through his window. The eyes disappeared after a moment. Suddenly, something flew through the window, shattering the glass. Naruto bolted up as something embedded itself into the wall next to his head. He glanced over to find a kunai lodged into the wall. He just noticed the white paper tied to it before the paper ignited and exploded. Naruto screamed as he was thrown towards the opposite side of the room, crashing into the wall before falling to the floor, unconscious. The right side of his face was littered with scratches and was burned greatly from the blast. He was bleeding from the back of head where he had impacted the wall. He was still alive, but as smoke filled the room and the fire began to spread, that certainly wasn't going to be the case much longer.

Mikoto rushed from her bedroom just in time to run into her mother and the other shinobi in the hallway. They collided with a thump, but both kept their balance. Mikoto looked up at mother, her icy blue eyes wide. "Mom, Naruto! That came from his room!" she shouted. Kushina nodded before running after her friends. Mikoto watched as the Shinobi headed towards the south end of the house before following after them. She might just be an Academy student, but they might need her help.

Kushina burst into the burning room that belonged to her son. Flames licked out at her, forcing her to take a step back. Through the flames, however, she spotted a large figure tossing a small, unmoving form onto their back. Growling, Kushina darted into the room. "Let him go!" she shouted as she went after the person. The unknown figure jumped through the window just as the strain of the fire causes the room to collapse. Kushina jumps through the window just in time to miss being burned and crushed by the flaming debris.

Landing outside on the grass, Kushina glances around before catching sight of the intruder and darting after them. Back inside the house, Kakashi performs a water jutsu, putting out the fire before it can spread to the other parts of the house. "Kurenai, you and the others go after Kushina," he ordered. "I think she's found something." The others did what he said and ran outside. Mikoto followed them. She feared greatly for her family's safety.

Kushina jumped from branch to branch in pursuit of the kidnapper. She could see Naruto's body slung over the shinobi's shoulder. Rage fueled as she chased after the person who kidnapped her son. She was so focused on getting him back that she didn't even notice the others spread out around her.

Back at the estate, Kakashi got the fire under control and went in search of Mikoto who had disappeared when the others left. Fear swept through him, for both her safety and his own. Kushina would kill him if anything happened to her daughter. Running through the house, Kakashi finally found the girl sitting on the floor before her brother's destroyed room. She sat against the wall, hugging her knees to her chest. Kakashi slowed to a stop beside her before sitting with her.

"Mom's not coming back," she whispered, causing Kakashi to look at her in fear.

"What are you talking about?" he questioned. "Of course your mother is coming back! Kushina is one of the best the Anbu has to offer. She'll get Naruto back and come home." Mikoto opened her eyes and looked up at him.

"Kakashi-san, Mom's not coming back," she repeated earnestly. Kakashi's eyes widened. This wasn't just a gut feeling or fear that had her telling him this. She'd _seen_ it.

"Oh God," he whispered. "Where is she? Do you know where she is right now?" Mikoto turned from him and closed her eyes. She was silent for a moment.

"She's in the forest," she said. "She's chasing after the one who grabbed Naruto. She doesn't know that she's falling into a trap." She hugged her knees tighter to her chest, turning away from Kakashi as tears began to fall. She lost her father five years ago. Now she was about to lose her mother.

Kakashi sighed, not knowing what to do. How do you comfort a child who was about to be an orphan? How do you comfort a child who'd just _seen _their parent die before it actually happened? Kakashi sighed again, unable to say anything. There was nothing to say.

In the forest, Kushina followed the kidnapper as they landed in a clearing. She dropped to the ground behind him, pulling out two kunai. "Give him back now," she growled. The figure chuckled before turning around. Covering its face was a white mask with no particular animal shape. This person wasn't an Anbu. What was he then?

The person behind the mask chuckled, amused by something. He pulled the boy from his shoulder and held him up by the collar. "This little boy?" the person questioned, seemingly amused by her. He shook Naruto slightly; just enough to bring the boy back to awareness. Naruto slowly opened his right eye. His left was glued shut from the burn damage and blood dripping down his face from the explosion. His good eye immediately settled on his mother.

"Mama?" he whispered before going into a coughing fit. Kushina could only watch in anger and fear for her son as he continued to cough painfully hard, most likely due to the smoke he inhaled while laying unconscious in his room just minutes before.

His kidnapper jerked the child slightly. "You sure you want this little boy?" he questioned again, amusement still saturating his voice. "Why would you want this little boy? After all, he did lead to your husband's death, no?" Kushina growled, gripping her kunai even tighter. "He's not even your son. Why should you care about him? After all, he is the child of your husband's favorite wife, no?" Kushina's eyes widened in horror, her blood running cold. _No one _knew about Izaki. _No one _knew that Minato had another wife. So how did _he _know?

The masked shinobi laughed maliciously, tossing the sick boy up into the air before slammed his fist into the fire year old's gut, efficiently knocking the wind out of the boy. The force of the blow threw the boy against a tree. For second time that night, he was knocked unconscious by the proceeding blow to the back of the skull. Kushina growled again, recovering her composure to a point.

"Naruto!" she shouted. She turned back to the man. "How dare you hurt _my _son," she growled. "Minato was only married to me." The shinobi before her chuckled.

"Nice try, my dear Uzumaki Kushina, kunoichi of the former Uzugakure." Kushina's eyes widened. Questions spun around in her head. How had he known that she was from Whirlpool? The only person who knew that was herself, Minato, and the Third. All of her files had been deemed confidential and had been placed somewhere secret for safekeeping. How could he _know _this?

The unknown shinobi chuckled, and Kushina was once again angered by how amused he seemed to find this situation. She clenched her fists and lunged at the offending shinobi. The unknown shinobi chuckled and began to dance around the angry kunoichi's attacks. The shinobi found the kunoichi amusing. The more she missed, the angrier she became, and wasn't she pretty when she was angry?

Kushina was thinking the exact opposite. The shinobi she was currently facing was infuriating. He laughed whenever she missed. It was annoying, angering. Kushina knew that she shouldn't just be brawling. She was a Jounin for a reason. Yet, this strange nin was making all common sense and rational thought exit her mind. Try as she might, the only thing she could think about was her rage. What was happening to her? What was he doing to her?

The mysterious shinobi chuckled underneath his mask. Kushina's eyes widened as he suddenly appeared directly beside her. "So you've noticed, hm?" he whispered into her ear. Kushina leapt away from him, trying to put some distance between them. The weird shinobi allowed this, pausing the fight one moment. "Yes, you've noticed. I can see it in your eyes. You have become incapable of rational thought, using nothing but your primal instincts to attack me. As expected. You see, Kushina Uzumaki of the former Whirlpool, daughter of the Fifth Uzukage, wife to the Fourth Hokage of the Leaf, my ability is to erase all rational thought from my opponent's mind by using nothing other than pheromones. You certainly can't hold your breath for a long period of time, so your defeat is inevitable."

Kushina's eyes narrowed. She couldn't help but admit to herself that he was right. She was going to be defeated.

* * *

Naruto winced as he opened his eyes. His face burned, his head throbbed, and his stomach hurt along with his ribs. Everything was sore. He hadn't felt this bad since he started training with Maito Gai. Naruto slowly rose to his knees, shaking his head as he tried to clear it. What was going on? Where was he? Why was he outside?

"Naruto-kun," a creepy voice sang from his right. Naruto slowly turned his head and looked up. His eyes widened in horror at the sight of his mother. Kushina Uzumaki sat bloodied and beaten on the ground. She was tethered by the wrists by steel wire. She sagged, causing the wires to cut into the flesh of wrists, blood rolling down her arms. Her hair was matted with blood and her face had been slashed and sliced. Her left eye socket was a bloody mess, her beautiful blue eye ripped from its place.

Naruto gazed in horror at the beaten form of her mother. Tears sprang into his eyes. "Mama!" he screamed, lunging forward. He was abruptly jerked backwards, landing onto his back with a hard thud that sent the air out of his lungs. Naruto looked up to find the man in the white mask gazing down at him with cold black eyes.

"No, no, no," the creepy voice sang, coming from behind the mask. His voice was edged with sadistic amusement. "We can't have that, now can we, little Naruto?" Naruto watched in horror as the place where the mouth should have been on the mask split and slowly contorted into a wide, demented grin. "Don't worry, little one. After we kill your Mommy, you and your sister shall go next." Naruto's eyes widened.

The young boy opened his mouth, but no words came out. He tried to reach for his throat, but couldn't move his arms. In fact, he couldn't move at all. His entire body was numb. Naruto knew that it had something to do with the man in the grinning mask.

The man calmly walked from Naruto side and towards the barely alive woman. Kushina lifted her head at the sound of feet coming towards her. Blood dribbled down her face from wound to the top of her head. She groggily looked up at her executioner. She did this unseeingly, having been hit hard in the back of the head, just enough to temporarily blind her. It didn't matter, though, since she was going to be dead before she would gain her vision back. Her killer knew this and hated this fact. He wanted her to see her son just before she died, just to rub it in, to make her guilty. It didn't matter, though. They would be seeing each other soon.

"Kushina, it is nice of you to join us," the masked shinobi said, slowly unsheathing a long katana that had been hidden within his pants. Naruto watched as it glinted in the moonlight. Kushina lowered her head again, gazing blindly at the ground.

"Then that means that Naruto is awake…right?" she whispered.

"Did you really think that I would let him miss such a joyous affair?" The man flicked his wrist, his sword whistling as he tested it. "Never. I want him to see his loving mother die before his very eyes. Don't worry. His sister will follow. When I'm finished, he will be begging me to end his life."

Kushina's body sagged lower to the ground. Her will had been beaten out of her, and now, she was paying the price for rushing headfirst into things. Why should she care for the boy? He wasn't hers, anyway. He was a painful reminder of the fact that not only was her husband dead, but he was never truly in love with her in the first place. Yet she still kept the boy around because she had thought that it was her duty as his stepmother to do so, and it was.

Kushina gazed down at the ground, willing back tears. She loved Naruto as if he were her own. It was because he reminded her of Minato and because he was the son of her best friend that had kept her from simply allowing the many villagers to end his life.

"Naruto," she whispered, her head still lowered to the ground. She could hear her murderer coming closer. "Naruto, I just want you to know that... I just want you to know that I've always loved you." If she was going to die, she was going to die with him thinking that she was still his mother.

The masked man stood over her, his sword poised for the kill. "How touching. I think I might cry." He paused. "No, I don't think so." He turned to Naruto. "Please say goodbye to Mommy now." Naruto watched as he pulled the sword up and over his head. With one downward swing, the katana connected with Kushina's neck. Her head fell to the ground, separated from the body. Blood squirted from the still beating heart, splattering onto the man's clothes, onto the body, and onto the ground.

The entire world slowed to the crawl for Naruto. He stared fixatedly at the body of his mother, his mind repeating the same word over and over again. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. His mother was dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. She wasn't coming back. She wasn't going to be there on his first day to the Academy. She wasn't going to be there to protect him from the mean villagers. She wasn't going to be there to kiss him good morning or kiss him good night. She wasn't going to be there for him at all. She was gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. She was never coming back. Never. Never. Never. Never.

Naruto sat there staring, oblivious of the shinobi as he walked forward, blood dripping from his sword and onto the ground. The man stood before the child, the demented grin still stuck on his mask. "Now that your mommy is gone, little Naruto, we shall go pay your sister a visit," he said cheerfully, as though he hadn't just beheaded the boy's mother.

Naruto blinked before raising his head. He didn't even notice that the numbness was gone. He never gave it a thought that his own fear had attributed to it. Now, he was able to move again, but he didn't care. He looked up at the man who had just killed his mother. The demented smile remained on the white mask. Half of it was splattered with blood. His mother's blood, he realized. He killed her. He killed her. He should die. He should die worse than she did.

"You should die," he whispered, staring at the man. The shinobi cocked his head to the side.

"I should die?" he said amused. "Are you the one who is going to kill me?" Naruto blinked.

"Yes," he said. The world faded to black.


End file.
